https://jslhr.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=1781177Obituary for Maureen Higgins, Associate Editor-Speech, JSLHR (2000–2002) The Editor has elected to take this opportunity to publish an obituary for Dr. Maureen B. Higgins, who served as an Associate Editor for Speech for the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research from January 2000 until the time of her death in November 2002. We wish to ...2003-04-01T00:00:00EditorialSusan Ellis Weismer

The Editor has elected to take this opportunity to publish an obituary for Dr. Maureen B. Higgins, who served as an Associate Editor for Speech for the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research from January 2000 until the time of her death in November 2002. We wish to acknowledge Dr. Higgins' contributions to the journal and express gratitude for her professional service in this area. This obituary was written and submitted by Dr. Arlene Carney, University of Minnesota.

Dr. Maureen B. Higgins died in Omaha, NE, on November 19, 2002, after a 12-year illness. She received her BS (summa cum laude), MS, and PhD in speech-language pathology from Syracuse University, where she studied speech and voice physiology under the mentorship of John Saxman. Dr. Higgins went to Boys Town National Research Hospital (BTNRH) in Omaha as an NIH postdoctoral fellow in 1990, working with Ron Netsell in speech physiology and Arlene Carney in speech production for deaf adults and children. She was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma during her fellowship. Despite a long series of unsuccessful treatments, Dr. Higgins continued her work as a researcher, as a clinician, and as Coordinator of Speech and Language Services at BTNRH. She received an ASHA Research Grant for New Investigators and was a principal investigator of three different NIH grants on spasmodic dysphonia, articulation and phonation in deaf children, and speech intervention for deaf children. Her research was published in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Ear and Hearing, and the Journal of Voice. Dr. Higgins' work provides important new insights into the underlying physiological mechanisms that contribute to poor speech intelligibility and normalcy in deaf children. She taught courses in voice at the University of Iowa and Syracuse University. Dr. Higgins served as an Associate Editor for JSLHR for 3 years and was a frequent grant reviewer for NIDCD; she continued these activities until days before her death. She is survived by her husband of 11 years, Jeffery Hicks, her mother, and two brothers.